One of the exhibitors at this year's Lunenburg Festival of Crafts is artist Cheryl Corkum.

 In a profile located on her web site, Cheryl emphasizes that subjects of her paintings are as varied as the coastlines of the South Shore, oft accenting the charm of the Nova Scotia fishing village life.

 Cheryl spent much of her childhood capturing the scenery near her home on the exquisite LaHave River.

 And an appreciation for art courses through her blood: Cheryl's grandmother designed and hooked beautiful rugs in spite of a genetic visual impairment - an impairment that Cheryl herself also shares.

 Now living in Lunenburg and a member of the Lunenburg Art Gallery, she shares her ability with the wider Nova Scotia art community by offering workshops throughout the province and participating in wonderful shows, such as the Lunenburg Festival of Crafts.

 It's also an impairment her father shared but, like Cheryl's grandmother, her father never let it stop him from cultivating a passion and an appreciation for art.

 "I see things through colour and shape more than the details," she told the Lunenburg Progress Enterprise in 2006.

 "I really work hard at this."

 Her paintings are bright, vibrant and visually appealing; they seem to convey the essence of life here on the South Shore almost effortlessly.

 With interpretations of houses, boats, coastal scenes and seascapes featuring thundering waves, her art is a brilliant reminder of the natural beauty of our own region and, as such, it's not to be missed.

posted on 07/08/08